City of Guelph

This is Going to Be Very Very Cool for @DowntownGuelph #Guelph! @TheBookShelfNews

Thursday May 12th, Guelph, ON : This Sunday May 15thThe Bookshelf will welcome Guelph’s newest and largest public art installation created by internationally renowned cartoonist and designer, Seth. Measuring 10 feet high and 60 feet long, this giant drawing will dominate the upper wall of this famous independent bookstore in Downtown Guelph.

Commissioned by the Downtown Guelph Business Association (DGBA), the piece is titled “The Junkyard of Memory” and reflects the personal memories of the artist. “Almost all of my work is about memory and time and much of that work is on a very small scale”, he said. “This unusual opportunity presented me with a challenge — how to incorporate such private themes into a large piece of public art. In the end, I resolved this dilemma by falling back on my skills as a cartoonist—employing the large size to tell a very small story.”

Cultivating a healthy cultural landscape was key in the conception of this project. Business owner Hannah Minett said “The Bookshelf is thrilled to host the public art installation by Seth. The piece is a wonderful enhancement of space and the Downtown Guelph Business Association should be proud for prioritizing beauty and storytelling in urban landscape and design.”

To celebrate this brand new piece of public art, The Bookshelf and the DGBA would like to invite fans and art lovers to meet the artist at the official launch on Saturday May 28th from 2pm to 3pm at the book store. There will be books and postcards available for fans to purchase and the artist to sign, as well as plenty of photo opportunities.

Based in Guelph, Seth is one of the foremost cartoonists in North America. His ongoing comic book series Palookaville began in 1991. His work has appeared on the cover of the New Yorker and he has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario. He is the subject of the 2015 National Film Board of Canada documentary, “Seth’s Dominion”. A selection of his most recent work will be featured in a small exhibition installed in the gallery of renann isaacs contemporary art (31 Quebec Street) from Saturday May 14th until the end of June.